Founded 2009
Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura
Kitchen Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese)
Atmosphere Contemporary and modern
Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura (or Micha, as he’s known) is the world’s most famous Peruvian chef. At his restaurant, Maido, he presents the Nikkei cuisine: a combination of Japanese cooking techniques and distinctly Peruvian ingredients and flavors, such as fresh fish, chili, corn, yucca and lime. His revolutionary dishes are a perfect expression of his worldview: an original, innovative mix of both cuisines and cultures.
Maido became an exceptional international success and was ranked 8th in the top 10 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. It came second on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in Latin America.
Chef Tsumura has also become a rising star. In 2010, a year after the opening of his restaurant, he was named the best chef in Peru; since 2011 he is one of the judges in the Peruvian version of “Master Chef”, regularly attending and speaking in international gastronomy festivals; and in 2013, he published “Nikkei in Peru”, a book that focuses on the fascinating fusion of the two cultures and cuisines throughout history.
He is currently busy working on two new restaurants in Chile and Macao.
- Amazonas beans | beans on avocado cream, dashi, sweet quince, quinoa, coffee beans and ponzu gel
- Choripan | steamed bread,fish and octopus sausage,pickled vegetables, Japanese mustard, native potatoes
- Reef | tofu cheescake ice cream, bread sand, sweet potato, apple with wakame, camu camu, taperiba and burgundy grape tapiocas, soy milk
- From Chiclayo to Tokyo | The classical fish ceviche roasted inspired in the creation of Hector Solis from “Fiesta” with Nippon touch
- Nikkei thick ribs | Our version of Northern stew, vacuum cooking for 50 hours with loche, yellow pepper, shoyu and sake served with sautéed rice
One more thing In 2014, Tsumura joined the "Tiger's Milk" Gang, a group of the best Peruvian chefs led by Gastón Acurio (from Astrid y Gastón, whose acting chef, Diego Muñoz, participated in Round Tables 2016). Members of the group are ambassadors of the Peruvian cuisine, and Tsumura travels the world on their behalf: in Chile, Chicago, Miami, Argentina, Paris, Singapore and more. In each city he teaches and learns, as he will do in Tel Aviv.
Contact 399 San Martin Street, Miraflores, Lima
+1 1 447 7554
Website
"Chili with soy is the perfect combination - if you think about the DNA of a cuisine, it’s the foundation of a cuisine - like tomato and olive oil."
Chef Q&A Mitsuharu Tsumura
My restaurant’s secret:
Tasty food
My 3 most favorite ingredients:
Aji, Shoyu, Potatoes
The dish I love cooking the most:
Cebiches
The most exciting moment in my career:
Every day
The person/people that I was most excited cooking for:
My family
The best cooking advice I have ever received:
Be patient
My ideal last meal would be:
A 35 course
The next ‘big thing’ in the culinary world is:
Latin American cuisine
The best restaurant in the world in my opinion:
Impossible to say
In Tel Aviv I’m looking for:
Learning about its culture
Founded 2017
Chef Yuval Ben Neriah
Kitchen Modern Japanese bistro
Atmosphere Sexy
Last spring, acclaimed chef Yuval Ben Neriah – the man behind the award-winning Asian restaurant Taizu – opened Ya Pan: a Japanese bistro offering a gastronomic experience inspired by Japanese gastro-pubs (izakaya). With an eternal waiting list, beautiful dishes featured on social media and critical acclaim – Ya Pan is the new, inventive star in Tel Aviv.
After studying the Japanese cuisine deeply and thoroughly as can be expected of him, Ben Neriah imported it to Israel in all its glory – with all the shades of colors it has adopted from China, Korea and the West. But he doesn’t stop there, and gives each dish his own local interpretation, while remaining focused, true to ingredients and loyal to the cooking methods. On the uniquely eclectic menu you can find a DIY sushi alongside a juicy hamburger served in an airy bun – just as the Japanese like it. As in any bistro, Ya Pan also serves bread and butter, but Ben Neriah’s version includes nuri seaweed and a special green foam that he imports himself.
Beyond the culinary innovation, Ya Pan is also strict about two other issues: skillfully and precisely fermenting a variety of delicacies (miso, pickles, kimchi); and sustainability based on the Nose to Tail approach – cooking all parts of the meat and fish (brain, fish head, testicles, etc.) to prevent unnecessary waste and damage to animals. All these are reflected not only on the plates and in the palate, but also on the bottom line, allowing a more affordable pricing of chef Ben Neriah’s creations.
- Sea fish Nabemono | udon noodles, Shimeji mushrooms, small Chinese cabbage
- Sashimi platter | soy cream and sake butter
- Chicken katsu | Japanese mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce and barbecue sauce
- Temarizushi | a collection of rice balls wrapped in raw fish
One more thing The exceptionally colorful design of the restaurant draws inspiration from the kite festivals in Japan, a place for fascinating social encounters of people who gather together to fly huge kites in the sky.
Contact 26 Nachmani St. Tel Aviv
972-3-6960707
Website
"And this is perhaps the key point in this wonderful new restaurant: the opposite of banal and performed to praise. Something that may be summed not necessarily by words, but more with a description of a feeling: after eating a few of the dishes here, you physically feel like green-red-purple screens are hovering in your life."
Chef Q&A Yuval Ben Neriah
My restaurant’s secret:
My experiences from Japan as I interpret them on the plates
My 3 most favorite ingredients:
Green chili and coriander
The dish I love cooking the most:
Spaghetti
The most exciting moment in my career:
The opening of my first restaurant, Taizu
The best cooking advice I have ever received:
Be true to yourself
The person/people that I was most excited cooking for:
I’m not an excited type. I must remain cool while working in the kitchen
My guilty food pleasure is:
McDonald’s
My ideal last meal would be:
Bread and olive oil
The next ‘big thing’ in the culinary world is:
Kitchens without geography, born in laboratories and engaged in fermentation and processing
The best restaurant in the world in my opinion:
There are many of them
Meal Structure